A photographer who thought he spied Bieber sitting in his parked white Ferrari was struck and killed by oncoming traffic as he walked across a Los Angeles street to get back to his car after snapping photos.

An opportune picture of the 18-year-old celebrity can rake in hard currency, but Bieber was not in the car at the time of the New Year's Day incident.

The photographer, 29, spotted the sports car stopped on Sepulveda Boulevard, parked his own vehicle across the street, crossed to get closer to Bieber's car and took photos of its occupants, Los Angeles police said.

An SUVstruck the paparazzo as he was returning across the street to leave, Stoughton said.

Authorities have not released his name. Police said in a statement that the driver of the SUV, a 69-year-old woman, stayed at the scene. There was no evidence that the woman was driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, authorities said.

"While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim," Bieber said in a statement.

"Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves."

"He was coming up behind me, making abrupt lane changes, not giving signals, cutting off cars," Zine said. The photographers were keeping up with Bieber, thick on his heels.

Zine said he expected to see a crash and feared someone could die.

The lawmaker, known for supporting tough measures against obnoxious paparazzi behavior, alerted the highway patrol, who ticketed Bieber for speeding in his Fisker Karma, an expensive plug-in hybrid sports car.

A photographer was slapped with criminal charges, including reckless driving.